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Dog Study Revives Concerns About Virus Used for Gene Therapy
Posted on: 7 January 2020, source: Science
Adeno-associated viruses are popular vectors for delivering gene therapies to patients’ cells because, researchers believed, the DNA these viruses carry rarely inserts into the host genome. But according to results presented last month (December 9) at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in Orlando, Florida, this assumption may be wrong. In six dogs that were treated with an AAV-based gene therapy for the blood-clotting disorder hemophilia B, all of them carried the therapeutic DNA within their genomes, and in some cases, the genetic material had inserted near genes known to play a role in cell growth, Science reports.
Adeno-associated viruses are popular vectors for delivering gene therapies to patients’ cells because, researchers believed, the DNA these viruses carry rarely inserts into the host genome. But according to results presented last month (December 9) at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting in Orlando, Florida, this assumption may be wrong. In six dogs that were treated with an AAV-based gene therapy for the blood-clotting disorder hemophilia B, all of them carried the therapeutic DNA within their genomes, and in some cases, the genetic material had inserted near genes known to play a role in cell growth, Science reports.